A very serious attack on traditional food and farming is underway – a major threat to the artisanal, non-GMO, organic, and traditional food sectors, says food writer Joanna Blythman. Blythman describes what you need to know and do, urgently, to defend your right to eat time-honoured ingredients in their natural forms and protect authentic small-scale food culture. She writes: "This government intends to force genetically modified organisms (GM) food onto our plates - UNLABELLED. It is about to announce a package of statutory instruments to the Genetic Technology Act that includes permissions for GM so-called ‘precision bred’ (PBO) farm animals as well as the final scanty marketing requirements for PBO plant and animal foods." See the item below for the action that Blythman recommends that people in the UK take. Country Squire Magazine

 

 

Before the end of May, Defra will meet with stakeholders, including Beyond GM and GMWatch, to confirm the next steps for the Genetic Technology Act. We will be given details of the package of statutory instruments (SIs) that will make the Act fully operational. These will include provisions for the production of genetically engineered "precision bred" (PBO) farm animals and plants in our food system and for the way that these foods can be marketed in England – and by extension the rest of the UK. Currently, however, there is no provision for labelling these precision bred foods. Given that the majority of citizens in this country have expressed a preference to see these foods labelled, this is a terrible betrayal of public trust. Take action – write to your MP. Help put this issue on their agenda ahead of the announcement of the SI package and ask them to ensure the upcoming changes in the Genetic Technology Act include a provision for mandatory labelling. Beyond GM

 

 

New research highlights the beneficial effects of rose essential oil (REO) on tomato plants as a plant defense potentiator (a substance or treatment enhancing natural defence mechanisms against pests, diseases, and other stressors by activating the plant’s own defence responses) for organic agriculture and horticulture. As reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, REO, particularly its component β-citronellol, activates defence genes in tomato plants, enhances their natural defence mechanisms, and dramatically reduces leaf damage by 45.5%. Additionally, REO attracts beneficial insects that prey on herbivore pests. Field trials confirm the efficacy in real-world conditions. Beyond Pesticides

 

 

When one of the elders in the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska asked if he could keep bees on the reservation, tribe chairperson Tim Rhodd's answer was straightforward: "Absolutely." Soon, the bees started buzzing in the alfalfa fields. Then they started pollinating. Then they all died. "Once we started looking into it, we found there was a chemical (class) called neonicotinoid that caused the death of these bees," said Rhodd. "That was the very, very first part of what I had seen that we were doing things wrong." Facing the reality that their soil was contaminated – and the realisation that the same harmful insecticides that killed the bees would be bad for them, too – the Ioway started questioning their farming practices. After receiving a grant in 2019, the tribe switched its farming operations from monocropping to regenerative agriculture, a process designed to promote biodiversity and soil health. The tribe's Ioway Farms operation has implemented regenerative practices and indigenous methods across 2,400 acres of row crop production and 2,500 acres of pastureland in rural northeast Kansas. The Morning Sun

 

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